Is this too much to be starting out?

[MASShole]

I don't understand you guys. It's all or nothing. I want to be physically strong and explosive hence the oly lifting. Why can't I mix in one or two isolation exercises like curls and tricep extensions?

You guy's need to realise were not all MMA fighters, or professional lifters, some of us do it for general health and function. Lighten Up

Try to do your oly lifting first, then the big 3, then your isolation. You don't want to pre-exhaust muscles prior to oly lifting.

Your program is all over the place. There's nothing wrong with full body workouts, but you want to program it so you're doing the big stuff, then the little stuff after.

 

[KnightTemplar]

There's a few things you can do to improve your chinup strength prior to repping them.

You can use the assisted pull-up/dip machine thing that gives you a bit of help by pushing your knees up.

You can do negatives.

You can also do inverted chin-ups:

He can also use Power Bands. I suck at Pull-ups, and the Bands help me.

 

[yocan]

I know they aren't the same exact motion but very close, the gravitron pull up/dip machines can help when you can't do very many.

Dips over tri cept extension IMO are a must.

The thing people don't mention on here enough, that I found out the hard way is isolation exercises get you strong in one very strict way. SO when you do something in real life and you tear your chest or something its almost expected. Before I figured out how to lift properly I tore my back, three points in my left pec, And had more pulls in races then I would care to admit. I warmed up enough, I lifted. But it was all isolation work.

You are crazy prone to injury just like running exclusively on a treadmill. First time going to catch a frissbee you can pop something. Its just dumb.

 

[Beable]

He can also use Power Bands. I suck at Pull-ups, and the Bands help me.

This is what I do. I can do one without it now. I'd suggest the OP check out my log, but I don't do olympic lifts. I like the two day split in the FAQ. If you're not annihilated at the end of it, you can always add some assistance work if you want.

 

[cXs808]

i still don't understand how the FAQ workout doesn't fully solve this dudes needs/wants...

full body workout? check
three times a week? check
arm development? check
boost metabolism? check
get stronger? check
put on mass? check

 

[animalistik]

This is what I do. I can do one without it now. I'd suggest the OP check out my log, but I don't do olympic lifts. I like the two day split in the FAQ. If you're not annihilated at the end of it, you can always add some assistance work if you want.

If he's not annihilated at the end of it, he can always add some more weight on the bar.

 

[rtfm]

I don't understand you guys. It's all or nothing. I want to be physically strong and explosive hence the oly lifting. Why can't I mix in one or two isolation exercises like curls and tricep extensions?

You guy's need to realise were not all MMA fighters, or professional lifters, some of us do it for general health and function. Lighten Up

This forum is more strength related than aesthetic. If you want to do exercises that are considered of limited use, at least to me, then that's fine. There are better forums though if your interested in cutting up to look good.

If you want to get stronger, size can and most times does follow. Some people don't necessarily want to add weight if they're in a weight class but if you eat and lift heavy you'll get big. If you want to get cut up looking you can do that with diet alone. Combine them both and you could look incredible but that's really not what this forum is about. I've watched people do curls and various other isolation exercises for months and they ended up with chicken wings.

I've looked at other "strength" forums online and most of them are shit. I mean really shit, this forum can be harsh and I was probably overly harsh and could have worded it better. This is the best forum I've seen for strength and conditioning though.

 

[Beable]

If he's not annihilated at the end of it, he can always add some more weight on the bar.

That's true. But the guy who owns my gym wants me to do some arm work and some ab work. I don't do it every day, but sometimes. That's what I meant by if you're not annihilated. Main lifts are the most important, but have a list of other possibilities if you feel like doing em from time to time.

 

[JauntyAngle]

I don't understand you guys. It's all or nothing. I want to be physically strong and explosive hence the oly lifting. Why can't I mix in one or two isolation exercises like curls and tricep extensions?

You guy's need to realise were not all MMA fighters, or professional lifters, some of us do it for general health and function. Lighten Up

The Starting Strength Wiki is full of good, if sometimes rather scathing, material on this topic, e.g.

So how do I get some direct arm work without rows, dips and curls?

Bench Press and Press are gonna hit your triceps hard. No additional tricep conditioning is needed. You might be surprised to learn that they will hit your biceps as well. In those exercises your biceps perform as dynamic stabilizers, Add that, plus all the additional growth happing throughout your body, and your biceps are CERTAIN to grow too. But if you want some direct bicep work on top of that, do pull-ups, they are included in both The Onus Wunsler and The Practical Programming novice programs. But even if you do The Original Program, besides the incidental bicep growth, you will eventually be doing pull-ups anyways once you finally move onto The Advanced Novice Program. Don't sweat it though, I've never seen anyone who had massive legs, chest, back, and shoulders, but had puny arms. Or anyone with massive triceps but non-existent biceps. I doubt you will be the first.

Are you going to stop me if I start doing curls at the end of the workout?

I'm of the opinion that if people really want to do curls and push-downs, they will... but I'm also of the opinion that they merit no discussion because they aren't part of the program. I take this same approach towards crack smoking.

Your task on this program is to do your lifts three days/week in good form, to keep adding weight every workout, and to rest on your rest days and eat and sleep and all that good shit... as long as you can maintain that, who gives a shit what you do. But dips, rows, curls, tricep extensions, and crack are not part of the program and you know that. So why would you look for justification here?

Can't I do 8 reps per set?

The general idea that 1-5 reps builds power and strength, and 6-12 reps build muscular mass is a pretty widely held notion. Arguably, this statement is correct in many cases. However, we must once again consider our target audience. The untrained novice will be able to maintain better technique and more even and consistent force production with fewer reps in the same set because fatigue will become less of a factor (as will the lack of the almighty Jane Fonda burn!) Strength is built with 5 reps, and for a novice barbell trainee, strength is all that matters for his development because it leads rapidly to mass accumulation (assuming diet is in order).

Granted, the newcomer wants 'teh big bicepts' and wants to get a pump like Arnold and wants a rippling 6-pack, and he wants to do all this while doing easy exercises and eating chocolate cake. Unfortunately that is not possible, and in order for a novice to build his musculature he MUST develop a base of strength before moving on to "specific hypertrophy work". The heavier weights that 5 reps per set allows means that the trainee will be able to more effectively load his skeletomuscular system. Since a newb really doesn't lift with anywhere near what his true strength and recovery would allow due to lack of motor skill and conditioning, the lower reps and heavier weight will do far more for him than "the pump" ever could.

Don't I need to hit the muscle from every angle?

Why, when you are an infant/toddler, does Mom and Dad teach you how to walk? Why don't they teach you how to do a backflip first? Why not teach you how to tiptoe through the tulips, or do the watusi? Why doesn't Dad teach you how to breakdance?

We'll assume, for a moment, that Mom and Dad actually know how to teach you to do those things. Why don't they teach you? Don't advanced gymnasts know how to do backflips, can't dancers do the watusi? Why don't they teach you to do those crazy moves that the breakdancer does? Why are they intent on making you take a step first before you start jigging and jiving?

The question seems stupid, doesn't it? Obviously you learn to walk before you can run, and certainly before you backflip or dance.

Yet new trainees want to trick before they can even stand up properly. 12 variations of curls, at least 5 bench presses involving dumbbells, various angles, and even machines, lord knows how many lat exercises with cables...all of these things end up in the novice's training program, each steps on the toes of the other, and the overwhelming complexity of it all frequently renders progress to zero when it should be flourishing.

 

[joho]

Poster is a troll  it wasnt obvious at first..then it hit me

 

[grrthetree]

I want to work out Tues/Thurs/Saturdays with the following:

Squat
Farmers Walk
Curls

Butterfly's (I will do bench if I have someone their to spot me)
Hang Clean and Press
Laying down Tricep Extensions

Deadlift
Dumbell Rows

Each Exercise 3 sets of 5 reps

What do you guys think?

If you were to do exercises like curls or triceps extensions, using a 3x5 rep scheme for them is retarded. Sets of 5 or less are meant to be for compound movements, in which you can move a good amount of weight. Isolation movements, if for some reason you decide to do them, should be done in rep ranges of 3x8-12.

This is what i would do to fix it while keeping the same general idea:

Day 1:

squat 5x5
farmers walk (rep range up to you)
BOR's, chins, lat pull downs, or horizontal pull ups*

Day 2:

bench press 5x5
clean and press 5x3
isolation exercise (triceps extension, curls, etc.) 3x12

Day 3:

deadlifts (ramp up to max set of 5)
chins/chin assist/lat pull down

*the rep ranges for these will, and should, vary by exercise. People who can do like 1 pull up should do a lot of singles or negatives, lat pull downs should be a little bit higher rep range but see what you like, BOR's go for 5x5. See what you can do with it, because chin ups respond well to a lot of volume, so do a lot of em.

But do what you like to do, you aren't a pro athlete with a paycheck on the line. The above is just what i would do if I were you.

 

[Kennethguye]

my opinion flies are the most useless exercise, just bench

 

[Turismo]

Keep it simple. Simple doesn't mean easy.

you are much better off doing either of the following:

Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5.
Or any other routine in the FAQ for that matter.

Please read the FAQ.
Then Re-read it.
Then adjust accordingly.